Puller device



June 15, 1954 E. E. ROBINS ET AL 2,681,204

FULLER DEVICE Original Filed Nov. 13, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY! June 15, 1954 E. E. ROBINS ETAL 2,681,204

FULLER DEVICE Original Filed Nov. 13, 1946 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q X O 70 Q f4 IN VEN TORS [Ma/d f. Rabi/25 J him Mn) [fir/fer knows/5;)"

June 15, 1954 E. E. ROBINS ETAL 2,681,204

FULLER DEVICE Original Filed Nov. 13, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORJ [Hard 1'. flan/)2: 6 HUM Wife) A Par/far Patented June 15, 1954 FULLER DEVICE Erford E. Robins, North Tonawanda, and Humphrey F. Parker, Buffalo, N. Y., assignors to Columbus Tonawanda, N. Y.

McKinnon Chain Corporation,

Original application November 13, 1946, Serial N 0.

709,506. Divided and t 1950, Serial No. 166,452

2 Claims.

This invention relates to lever-operated or so-called ratchet hoists and pullers, such as are manually operated for raising and lowering loads, or for tensioning wires or cables, or applying pulling loads in any industry; and this application is a division of application Serial No. 709,566, filed November 13, 1946, now Patent No. 2,519,400.

Specifically, the invention relates to improvements in the general type of hoist or puller such as is shown in U. S. Patent No. 2,243,361; and wherein it is arranged that whenever the load is not being taken directly by the operating lever the load is sustained by the frame of the device independently of the operating lever by reason of automatic operation of friction brake means.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide in a hoist or puller of the character described improved means for stripping the load chain from the load chain sheave, Which is adapted at the same time to function as a device for maintaining operative parts in assembled realtion. Another object of the invention is to provide in a hoist or puller of the character described an improved lever-stop device for preventing undesirable rotation of the operating lever, for increased safety.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the specification hereinafter.

In the drawing,

Fig. l is a sectional view through a hoist or puller of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken along line IIIIII of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary View of the brake actuating cam portion of the unit.

In the drawings the hoist or puller of the invention is illustrated to comprise a frame i mounting a support hook l2 by means of a washer and nut connection device it, as is conventional in the hoist art. The frame I0 carries bearings |6l8 in which are journalled the hoist load lift wheel shaft. This shaft includes a reduced portion 20 disposed within the bearing l6; an enlarged portion 22 disposed within the larger diameter bearing 18; a lift wheel portion 24; a face plate portion 26; and an opposite reduced end portion 28. The bearing 15 is set against a shoulder 29 of the frame structure to transmit end thrust loads thereagainst, and thus the lift wheel 24 transmits end thrust loads directed toward the left as viewed in Fig. 1 to the bearing It. The shaft and bearing receiving opening portions of the frame are so dimensioned that his application May 2,

the bearing and. shaft elements may be progressively assembled upon the frame by slip-fitting the parts into the frame from right to left as viewed in Fig. 1.

The extreme left end portion of the shaft 20 is grooved as indicated at 36, and a U-shaped bracket 32 is bolted to the frame as by means of a stud 34; one end of the bracket 32 being thereby disposed within the groove portion 30 of the shaft to prevent accidental disassembly of the shaft from the frame. The other end of the bracket 32 turns upwardly into the centrally grooved portion of the lift wheel element 24 to function as a chain stripper, as is well known in the hoist art.

A friction disc 36 is rotatably mounted upon the shaft end portion 28 next adjacent to the face plate portion 25. A ratchet wheel H is rotatably mounted upon the shaft portion 28 by means of a wear-resistant bushing 22, and a second friction disc 45 is rotatably mounted upon the shaft portion 28 next adjacent to the ratchet Wheel 10. A lever ratchet hub 45 is rotatably mounted upon the shaft portion 28 and carries therewith a ratchet wheel portion 43 which is externally toothed as indicated at 50. The ratchet hub 46 has formed integrally therewith a pair of helically shaped surfaces 52-54, and a brake cam 56 having similarly helically shaped surfaces 58-59 is mounted adjacent the outer end of the shaft portion 28 and keyed thereto as at 6B. The cam surfaces 52-5458-59 are arranged so that the hub and cam members 45-.56 are complementary at the surfaces of contact therebetween, and whereby relative rotational movements therebetween will force the ratchet hub 46 .to be displaced axially relative to the cam 52. The brake cam 56 is axially positioned and locked against movement toward the right as viewed in Fig. 1 relative to the shaft 28 by means of a threaded nut 62 and cotter pin 64. A cover plate 66 is bolted by means of screws 68-68 .to the lever ratchet member .66 so as to enclose the mechanism subsequent to assembly thereof. A second cover plate 51 is press-fitted into the opposite end of the housing to enclose the latter.

The lever ratchet hub and ratchet wheel unit 4t l8 is encircled by an annular wear-resistant bushing t9 about which is cast the hub portion of the hoist operating lever l0; and as illustrated in Fig. 2, the lever Hi carries a plunger 12 which is normally biased by means of a compression spring .1 4 so as to move at its toothed end portion 16 into meshed engagement with the ratchet wheel 48. The tooth portion 76 of the plunger 12 is so shaped as to cooperate with the ratchet wheel G to block relative movement of the lever it and the ratchet wheel 48 in one direction, while permitting the ratchet wheel 48 to earn the plunger l2 out of blocking position for rotation of the lever '10 in the opposite direction. However, the plunger 12 is arranged to be manually reversible in attitude, and for this purpose is provided with a laterally bent finger 88 whereby the operator may withdraw the pawl and rotate the finger at through 180, and then upon release of the pawl it will reengage the wheel as so as to block movement of the lever relative to the ratchet wheel in the opposite direction. The lever frame 1B is recessed as indicated at 82 and the finger portion 86 is formed with a boss 85, whereby whenever the plunger 12 is in springbiased position the recess and boss formation S2-8 l cooperate to lock the lever against rotation. However, the finger 88 may be manually retracted against the action of the spring it and then only partially rotated so as to cause the boss portion 84 to ride upon the outer shoulder of the recessed portion 32, to hold the pawl out of engagement,

The frame It carries a boss portion 86 extending radially therefrom (Figs. 2-3); the portion 86 being radially bored to receive in slip-fitted relation a cylindrical shaped pawl member 88.

The outer end of the pawl 83 is shaped with a finger portion 90 for convenient gripping by the operator. The pawl portion 90 is transversely slotted as indicated at 92 and is centrally bored as indicated at 94 to accommodate therein a compression spring 95 bearing at its inner end against the inner closed end portion of the pawl 83. Subsequent to mounting of the spring 95 within the pawl cylinder, a pin 98 is slip-fitted through registering openings in the body portion so as to bridge the bored portion of the pawl 38 and to provide an anchor for the outer end of the spring 95. Thus, the spring is arranged to resist withdrawal of the pawl 88 from engagement with the ratchet wheel 4G. The body portion 86 is formed with a pair of outstanding abutments 98-98 over which the slotted portion 92 of the pawl head 9E3 slip-fits in one position of the pawl cylinder; but upon manual withdrawal of the pawl from engagement with the wheel the pawl member may be twisted so that the enlarged head 99 rests upon the outer ends of the abutments 98-98, whereby the pawl is withheld from engagement.

The operation of the hoist or puller of the invention may be described as follows: Preliminary to hoisting or pulling against a load the hoist device is hung by means of the hook l2 upon some stationary anchor means at such position that it will be convenient to manipulate the lever iii with oscillatory motions, and with the load chain 99 extending therefrom into connection with the load. It is then usually desirable to take the slack out of the load chain prior to levering the handle 10, and this is accomplished by withdrawing the ratchet control elements 8il9! from engagement with their respective ratchet wheels, and rotating them slightly so that they rest upon the adjacent abutments so as to be held out of engagement with their ratchets. This permits the operating shaft iii] to be freely rotated so that the free end of the load chain may be simply pulled upon to rotate the load lift wheel unit of the mechanism and to take any slack out of the load carrying portion of the chain. The ratchet devices 8090 are then turned and permitted to return to engagement with their respective ratchet wheels; the finger 86 being turned, of course, so that the pawl it will be rotated in the proper direction to cause raising or pulling of the load when the lever F0 is oscillated. Thus, oscillation of the handle iii will cause the ratchet wheel 58 to rotate along with the brake hub portion 45. As the portion all rotates the helically formed surfaces of the members ML-56 will cause the hub 46, together with the ratchet wheel it and the friction discs 3644 to be forced endwise toward the left as viewed in Fig. 1 and into mutually pressure bearing relation against the face plate portion 26. This will cause the friction surfaces to become engaged so as to force the load lift wheel portion 24 of the shaft to rotate along with the lever Ill; and the friction between the brake elements will be sumcient to sustain the load when the operating handle it is being moved backwardly intermittently of each pulling stroke thereof. Thus, the handle 70 is simply oscillated back and forth until the load has been moved to the desired position, while at all times the load is frictionally sustained because of the fact that the ratchet pawl 88 is in engagement with the teeth of the wheel 50, thereby preventing its movement backwardly when the load is not being sustained by the operating handle during backward movements thereof.

When it is desired to lower or to relax the pull upon the load, the ratchet pawl control finger 89 is withdrawn outwardly against the tension of the spring 14, and when the hub portion all has cleared the recess 82 the lever 89 is rotated through and then allowed to return again under the action of the spring into pawl-meshing position. Thus, the pawl '16 will be in engagement with the wheel 33, but in reverse attitude. Oscillation of the handle it will now serve to operate the shaft 28 in the reverse direction and against the friction produced by the brake elements. The first movement of the handle under these conditions will serve to loosen the frictional engagement of the brake surfaces sufficiently to permit the operator to relax the pull upon the load. Since the lowering of the load will, however, tend to turn the shaft 28 and thereby rotate the brake cam 56, the load itself will keep the frictional surfaces of the brake unit in engagement sufiiciently to sustain the load. Thus, under these conditions the load is never carried by the handle but always by the brake unit, so that there is no tendency at any time for the handle to escape the grip of the operator and run wild. However, as an extra safety precaution, we prefer to form a handle stop abutment ltfl extending from the upper portion of the frame it into registry with a boss portion H12 (Fig. 1) of the lever iii, so that the latter is prevented from rotating more than 360 under any condition of loss of control of the handle by the operator. This further minimizes the opportunities for accident. The boss m2 is relatively narrow when viewed in side elevation (Fig. 2) and is located centrally of the lever it, whereby the lever 10 will have a permissible range of travel through substantially 360, instead of a substantially lesser range of travel as would be the case in event the stopportion Hill were arranged to abut against a side wall portion of the lever '60. It will be understood that the handle lll need not be oscillated through any prescribed degree of angular dis placement to operate the device so long as successive teeth of the ratchet wheel 49 are engaged, and that it may be oscillated within any convenient segment of the permissible 360 range of movement.

The provision of the paired bearings I6i8 of different diameters in the frame it provides a straddling support for the load lift wheel 24 while at the same time facilitating assembly of the mechanism by permitting the operating unit to be slip-fitted into the frame from one end thereof and then retained against accidental disassembly by the retainer 32. This combination stripper and lift wheel shaft retainer 32 provides a simple and an effective device performing a double function and thereby provides a further advantage over previous designs; and the stop device H30 provides a simple yet effective arrangement for increasing the factor of safety in operation of devices of this character. The steel bushing 69 bears upon the ratchet hub 45 and upon the ratchet Wheel 68 at opposite sides of the ratchet teeth 59, and the latter are retracted to prevent them from scoring the hub of the lever 10. Thus, a durable two-part bearing for the lever upon the brake unit is so provided as to remain stable and snug yet non-binding over long periods of service. The bushing 69 is knurled as at H5 so that when the handle 78 is die-cast thereon a keyed bonding of the two parts is effected.

It will be understood that although only one form of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the act that the invention is not so limited but that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a chain hoist or puller device, a frame, a load-lift Wheel shaft having a grooved portion and a lift wheel portion, said shaft being journaled Within said frame and slidable thereinto from one end thereof, and a retainer device secured to said frame, said retainer device comprising a U-shaped member having one of its finger portions extending into the grooved portion of said shaft to retain the latter against axial displacement, the other end of said retainer device being turned adjacent to said lift Wheel portion for stripping the chain therefrom.

2. In a chain hoist or puller device, a frame, a load-lift Wheel shaft carrying a lift wheel element, said shaft being journaled Within said frame and slidable thereinto from one end thereof, said shaft having a grooved portion, and a retainer device attached to said frame and comprising a U-shaped member having one of its finger portions extending into said grooved shaft portion to retain the latter against axial displacement, the other end of said retainer device being turned adjacent to said lift wheel element for stripping the chain therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,862,331 Cofiing June 7, 1932 1,903,218 Knight Mar. 28, 1933 

